Outcast: First Blood

"SHIT!"

Adrian's screams rang throughout the office. The employees looked down. Adrian's steps came back closer to the presentation board, which showed a decline in profit related to his company's engagement in the fashion sector.

"Think about your mistakes! Down nearly 50% from last month's revenue?! You guys are completely useless!"

Adrian chose to leave the meeting room. His anger radiated from the footsteps that seemed in a hurry and occasionally kicking the trash along the hallway.

Apart from that, he also drives the car as if possessed by a professional racer. Several times the horns and screams of other motorists were heard along the streets of New York. Adrian crashed into a road divider when the car was parked at a nightclub.

"What a night! Don't stare at me like that!" shouted Adrian, pointing to the security guard about to approach him.

Adrian stepped into the club without guilt. The goal is clear; he just wants to spend the night drinking alcohol until he gets drunk.

"Give me five bottles of beer and watch over me; every time you finish, you have to prepare it immediately without me having to scream!" said Adrian to the bartender.

"It seems that tonight is very heavy for you."

Adrian turned to the source of the voice, where a man was sitting next to him, wearing an all-black shirt with pale skin and gray hair. The man seemed to smile coldly and offered his hand to Adrian.

"Who are you?"

"That is not important. Just shake my hand as a sign of introduction," said the man.

Adrian followed the man's wish. At the same time, Adrian's ordered beer arrived, and he quickly downed a bottle of beer.

"By the way, I just wanted to give this to you," the blue-eyed man took out a business card and handed it to Adrian. "Come, and your anxiety will disappear."

"What's this? Are you promoting a striptease place? I appreciate that, but I wasn't in the mood to come there. I've ordered a lot of beers tonight, and I don't need a woman to cheer me up," Adrian muttered.

The man chuckled and shook his head. "No, I'm not a stripper agent. Come if you feel like you need help fixing your problem. I give this only to people in need like you."

Adrian looked at the man and raised an eyebrow. "Is it able to solve the problem of a company that is almost bankrupt?"

"All of your problems. If you have come, then you will thank me."

“Don’t be joking. No one can solve my problem. You're just a fraud looking for a victim.”

The man patted Adrian on the shoulder and approached the crowd dancing behind them. He didn't respond at all to Adrian's sentence that doubted his offer.

After several minutes of ignoring the business card, Adrian finally got distracted again and stared at the black card that contained an address. He turned his head back to look for the man but to no avail.

"This is weird. Do I have to go?"

***

Adrian's car pierced through the quiet night. He had been driving for almost two hours. Yes, he decided to go to the address on the black card. His mind was constantly disturbed; even the beer he enjoyed tasted bland.

Adrian felt quite strange because the road indicated on the card led to a forest at the city's edge.

"Okay, it seems he's a criminal who wants to steal my organs. How stupid of me to follow his words. Maybe I-"

Adrian's sentence was cut off when his eyes caught sight of a large white building in the forest. Faint light could be seen emanating from the gloomy building.

Adrian turned off his car's engine and got out. The atmosphere was so quiet, and no one could be seen in the building.

"Hello, I'm the guy you met at the bar. Is there anyone here?!" Adrian shouted.

After waiting a few minutes and repeating the same question, Adrian finally gave up because there was no response. The time on the clock also showed 1:00 a.m.

"Of course, I've been fooled, bastard!"

Adrian got back into his car and decided to leave. However, just as he was about to drive off, two people suddenly appeared in front of his car.

Adrian's eyes widened when he saw a large wing appear on the back of each of the black-clad men.

"What is this? Do I see things?" Adrian muttered.

One of the men approached; the wings on his back disappeared as he stepped forward. He knocked on Adrian's car window, and he was the man who gave Adrian the card at the club.

"Get out," he said.

Adrian got out, puzzled and said, "How did you do that?"

"It's not important. You have come, and we must start the ritual immediately."

"Ritual?"

"Yes, you will undergo a ritual to restore your glory. As I said, all you need to do is come. You have to trust us," the mysterious man said with a wicked smile.

"What guarantee do I have for this stupid ritual? If you want to trap me for money, then you're wrong. I have nothing for you to take. I've even pawned this car. You'll get nothing even if you want to kill me to sell my organs. I'm an alcoholic, so my organs are certainly very bad. The selling price will be low, and they won't even sell."

"No one wants your organs. Even if I wanted to do it, I don't need to bring you this far. Do you want a guarantee? You can find me at the Star apartment, room number 512. You can catch and imprison me if you can't restore your glory. I won't leave; my soul is already rooted there," the man replied firmly.

Adrian is honestly skeptical, feeling that all of this is just nonsense. But his mind is also in turmoil. The wings visible on the man increasingly convince him that this ritual is not just any ritual but a ritual to the devil that may indeed lead him to wealth.

"Noted. Now, do it," says Adrian.

The mysterious man takes Adrian's hand with the help of his silent companion. They pull Adrian's body into the empty building. A goat's head sign is visible on the floor, surrounded by white candles.

"Stand in the middle. This ritual will take a little time. It would help if you closed your eyes. Only open them once I say it's all over. Understand? You will get glory, and immortality will also come to you. Living forever with abundant wealth. Isn't that what you want?"

Those words sounded so beautiful to Adrian. The decline in his company could no longer be concealed. Adrian, known as a great businessman, is now just a potential homeless person. Adrian has been lulled into glory and abundant wealth and doesn't want it all to disappear.

"Okay, don't talk too much, and do it now!"

Adrian steps into the center of the pentagram, closing his eyes as instructed by the mysterious man.

"Tutayaq alma, hamuy. Tutayaq almakuna, supaykunawan hukllawakuychik. Tutayaq alma, qanmanmi sacrificakuni invulnerabilidadta, mana wañuq kayta kawsayniyman yapanaypaq."

Two men holding hands utter strange sentences. Adrian tries not to open his eyes, although he is curious about what is happening.

Right after the sentence is finished, all the candles go out. The gray-haired man standing before Adrian grins and reveals his long fangs. His once blue eyes are now red. He approaches Adrian and grips his arm tightly.

His heavy breathing makes Adrian feel strange, and he peeks a little. Adrian screams and struggles when he sees the man's fangs close to his neck.

"What are you doing?! Are you crazy?!" shouts Adrian.

"Calm down! You will ruin this ritual, Adrian. We need your blood for you to get what I said!"

The man's grip is tight, but Adrian doesn't stop there. When the fangs are about to be directed again, Adrian swings his hand and lands a punch in the man's face. The grip is released, and Adrian kicks the man in the crotch.

Adrian manages to escape and runs out of the building. Unfortunately, the other man manages to intercept Adrian. He flies with big black wings and lifts Adrian's body like a chick in an eagle's grip.

"Let me go! You're insane!"

Adrian felt an intense coldness when the man's hand gripping his shoulder touched his temple. He was lifted quite high, and without warning, the man released Adrian, causing him to fall to the ground. Adrian lay there with blood flowing from his head. His vision started to blur, and the sound became faint. The last thing Adrian felt before losing consciousness was the man's fangs sinking into his neck.

The grey-haired man sucked Adrian's blood with brutality. All the blood flowing from Adrian's head was gone in no time. Adrian was left in a pale and terrifying state.

"If only you had followed what I said, maybe I would have given you a chance to be my slave," the man said.

Wings emerged from his back, and he swiftly flew after his partner, who was still hovering in the air. They washed and disappeared behind the black clouds that covered the moon.